A hazmat team met a Frontier Airlines flight upon landing after airline crew were left feeling nauseous due to smelling a “fume-like odour.” The crew were aboard Flight 990 on Thursday that departed from Denver when they started to feel sick and alerted the captain, the airline said in a statement to The Independent. The odour was contained in the back of the aircraft, so no passengers were affected, according to Frontier Airlines. Once the plane landed at its destination in San Antonio, the city’s fire department met the aircraft at San Antonio International at 1.50pm to test for any poisonous gases. Hazmat suits were put on, and the crew hurried to the scene, taking extra precautions in case it was poisonous, but the crew found something a little less sinister. “Originally, we were called for a strange odour on a plane and people feeling bad, so we sent a whole lot of people: hazmat, rescue, airport rescue, all these things out there, San Antonio Fire Department Public Information Officer Joe Arrington told My San Antonio.<br/>
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Emirates opened the Dubai Airshow 2023 on Monday with a significant order for 95 additional wide-body aircraft, taking its total order book to 295 aircraft. Already the world’s biggest operator of wide-body passenger aircraft, Emirates has committed to additional Boeing 777-9s, 777-8s, and 787s, worth $52b, to power its growth plans, maintain a modern efficient fleet, and deliver the best flying experience to its customers, the airline said. In the presence of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, the orders were signed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CE, Emirates airline and Group; with Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; and Larry Culp, Chairman and CEO for GE, and CEO of GE Aerospace. Sheikh Ahmed said: "From day one, Emirates’ business model has been to operate modern and efficient wide-body aircraft capable of carrying large numbers of travellers comfortably and safely, over long distances to and via Dubai. Today’s aircraft orders reflect that strategy. These additional aircraft will enable Emirates to connect even more cities, supporting the Dubai economic agenda D33 set out by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to add 400 cities to Dubai’s foreign trade map over the next decade. By the early 2030s, we expect the Emirates fleet to be around 350-strong, connecting Dubai to even more cities around the world."<br/>
SunExpress Airlines, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, placed the first order at the Dubai Airshow on Monday and used the spotlight to remind Boeing to deliver on time after a series of industry delays. The budget carrier said it was placing a firm order for 45 narrow-body 737 MAX jets to be delivered between 2029 and 2035, with options or purchase rights for another 45. The roughly $5b-deal at list prices unexpectedly kicked off the aerospace jamboree as the schedule for big-ticket purchases expected from regional heavyweights such as Emirates and Turkish Airlines slipped amid last-minute negotiations. SunExpress CE Max Kownatzki presented a picture of the Frankfurt skyline to Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal in a play on the term "skyline" used to describe the backlog of planned deliveries in Boeing's airplane factories. Boeing and rival Airbus have been hit with chronic delays. "This is a bit of a breach of protocol. We had agreed not to exchange presents," Kownatzki said. "So we wanted to have a friendly token of thank you and also a gently and friendly reminder (to) make sure that the skyline is kept for the deliveries that we’re waiting for," he told Deal in a joint press conference. As travel rebounds from the pandemic, low-cost tourist airlines rely especially on getting new planes delivered in time for the summer season each year.<br/>
Latvia's airBaltic said on Monday it had placed an order for another 30 Airbus A220-300 passenger jets, along with options for another 20 as it targets 100 aircraft by 2030. The move comes as the airline prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) around a year from now. "We are in preparation for potentially doing an IPO. And of course an IPO is partly a growth story so the order will support the potential step of listing the company," CE Martin Gauss told a news conference. The largest Baltic airline was the launch operator for the A220-300, the larger of two variants originally developed by Canada's Bombardier, which airBaltic operates to Dubai, where Gauss was speaking during the Dubai Airshow. Gauss played down concerns about the plane's Pratt & Whitney engines, part of the Geared Turbofan family that has seen production glitches and a shortage of spares. "Let us say the engine is maturing and we wouldn't have placed an order if we didn't have full trust in the aircraft with the engine," Gauss said.<br/>
Saudi Arabia’s flagship carrier is considering a large expansion of its fleet with the addition of as many as 150 narrow-body aircraft and is holding preliminary talks with Airbus SE about the top-selling A320 model, people familiar with the matter said. Talks between Saudia and Airbus aren’t likely to be completed during the Dubai Airshow underway this week and could still fall apart, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing ongoing negotiations. An order of that caliber would be the largest in Saudia’s history. The state-owned airline is being repositioned to focus on religious pilgrimages as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reshapes the kingdom’s aviation market. Startup carrier Riyadh Air will focus on tourism as bin Salman aims to turn Saudi Arabia into a destination for visitors. The new airline is near a deal for Boeing narrow-bodies, Bloomberg reported earlier. Saudia has nearly wrapped up discussions on a 150-plane order, Saudia fleet executive Saleh Eid told a local outlet on Monday, without identifying the manufacturer. The size has been expanded from the original target of 100 planes, the people said.<br/>
The CEO of Saudi Arabia's newest airline Riyadh Air said on Monday it would announce a very large order for narrow-body aircraft "in a number of weeks' time" after reviewing bids by Airbus and Boeing. The airline, owned by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, said last week it had concluded its narrowbody campaign and was expected to announce the order soon, although no specific timeframe has so far been given. "(The) process has concluded," Tony Douglas told Reuters at the Dubai Airshow on Monday. "In a number of weeks' time, we will reveal a sizable order of narrow-body aircraft." Douglas, the former CEO of Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, declined to say how many aircraft Riyadh Air would order, or when. The company has already provisionally ordered 72 Boeing 787 widebody jets. The airline joins a crowded and competitive market in the Gulf, with established carriers like Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad all jostling for space. Douglas said it would not clash with other Gulf carriers as the majority of their business comes from transfer traffic, whereas most of Riyadh Air's will come from point to point flights to and from Saudi Arabia. "One national carrier simply doesn't have the capacity to provide anything like the demand that's out there," he said. Saudi Arabia's existing airlines include state-owned Saudia, its low-cost unit flyadeal, and flynas.<br/>
Dubai-based low-cost carrier, flydubai, has reached an agreement with Boeing on the opening day of the Dubai Airshow 2023 to purchase 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for $11b as the airline diversifies its fleet with the introduction of wide-body aircraft to cater to the growing demand on existing routes. flydubai currently operates an efficient single fleet-type of 80 Boeing 737 aircraft and includes: 30 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 47 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 03 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The airline has an order backlog of more than 130 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to be delivered by 2035. The carrier has built a network of more than 120 destinations in 54 countries spanning from Europe to South-East Asia. The signing ceremony was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai; Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE; Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai; Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, Stan Deal and Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai. Commenting on the order, Sheikh Ahmed said: "In 2008 when we placed our first ever order for 50 Boeing 737 aircraft, we were confident of the vital role flydubai would play in supporting Dubai’s aviation hub. I am proud today to see flydubai evolve further, surpassing labels and challenging the traditional conventions around travel. Today’s order reaffirms flydubai’s commitment to enabling more people to travel across its expanding network. The highly fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner will allow flydubai to expand its horizon and cater to the growing demand on existing routes."<br/>
Air Arabia, the Middle East & North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier operator, has announced an all-time record AED1.32b ($359.39m) net profit the first nine months ending September 30, 2023, an increase of 53% compared AED867m in the same period last year. The revenues for the first nine months increased by 16% reaching an impressive AED4.45b compared to AED3.84b for the same period of 2022. Air Arabia also reported record profitability of AED522m for Q3 ending September 30, 2023, an increase of 26% compared to the same period last year, while revenue for the third quarter 2023 reached an impressive AED1.63b. The low-cost carrier carried 12.4m passengers in the nine months to September 2023, compared to 9.1m passengers in the same period of 2022. Seat load factor hit 80%, an increase of 2%. The airline has AED4.9b in cash and cash equivalent, the statement said. Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: “Air Arabia maintained its robust growth in the first nine months of this year by expanding operations across its seven operational hubs and introducing new routes to enhance the carrier’s global network. The increase in capacity during this period was complemented by an impressive surge in passenger numbers, reaching a total of 12.4m, and marking a remarkable 36% increase compared to the first nine months of last year. Air Arabia remains unwavering in its commitment to diversify and expand its business, while simultaneously investing in innovative products that aim to enhance every aspect of our customers' journey."<br/>